Friday, July 31, 2009

Vineela Siva,Sreevidya and EC have passed on the “Creative Blogger”award.This award is pretty unique as it has certain rules attached to it:)

1.You must thank the person who has given you the award. 2.Copy the logo and place it on your blog.3.Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.4.Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.5.Nominate 7 other Kreative Bloggers.6.Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.7.Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

I thank Vineela Siva,Sreevidya and EC for this lovely award.I have been tagged earlier with similar rules and am jes copying what I had mentioned earlier.So here are few things about me......

1.Kitchen is my exclusive paradise, an area where I pursue my culinary endeavors , no one gets to cook..It’s MY SPACE!

2.I am a cleanliness freak, particularly Kitchen & Bathroom.Utensils lying in the sink is a good enough reason for me to lose my temper.P bares the brunt most times.

3.I drink gallons of water,so I use the loo a lot:-P My friends always take a dig at me for this!

4.I believe,am not only good in making friends but keeping them too,still in touch with folks I’ve known since I was 5yrs old.Touchwood!

5.As a kid I’ve been told” books are like god”,if your feet happens to touch it,take it immediately and hold it close to your eyes (actually its like saying sorry god).Just for fun,my Dad and bro torture me by actually taking a newspaper,touch it to my feet,hide it & make me run around the entire house,I would be relieved only when I find it. Its quite funny but I still believe in this.

6.I don’t claim to be a Master neither a geek,but certainly good at excel and numbers, after all that’s been my bread & butter for long.

7.I drool over Death by Chocolate & Tiramisu,the latter being my fav one.Am crazy to the extent of naming P’s number on my mobile phone as “Tiramisu”

Now coming to the post,of all the Kerala food that I've had,Puttu always remains close to my heart.This is one such food that I simple can't resist.Typical Puttu is made using the Puttu Maker.I had picked one such during my India trip this year,however had to drop it due to weight constraints.So I am sticking to my own way of making it using a cooker.

If using rice flour,heat a pan and sauté the flour until raw smell disappears.In a big bowl mix the flour,salt and li’l water until you end up with a crumbled texture.Do not add a lot of water,as we don’t need a dough like consistency.For best results,sprinkle water li’l by li’l and gently mix the flour.Add coconut and mix well.Place the mixture in a wide vessel and steam it for about 8-9mins in a pressure cooker.You may use an idly stand or jes a plain wide vessel.Serve hot along with Kadala curry(recipe follows).

Infact,if you have a sweet tooth,you may add sugar and cardamom powder to the steamed mixture and have it along with riped bananas,a typical way of relishing them.While sauting the flour,ensure not to burn them.I generally use a 2:1 ratio for the flour and the coconut,you may choose to lessen the quantity of coconut.These days Puttu powders are easily available in any Indian Grocers which comes very handy,I've used Ragi Puttu Powder, which is very high in proteins.I came across an interesting way of making them in Divya Vikram’s blog,you may check that out too.

1.In a wok/skillet,heat oil and add mustard and curry leaves.Add Onions and sauté until translucent.2.Add the grinded masala paste,sauté for few minutes.Add the tomato puree and cook until the raw smell disappears.3.Add salt(salt has been already added while cooking the chickpeas,hence be careful while adding it the second time).4.Add the boiled/cooked chickpeas to this gravy.Add a cup of water and allow it to cook until it thickens.Serve hot with Puttu.

I mentioned that the coriander and cumin seeds is optional,I add them because it brings an extra flavor when grinded fresh and also brings in a nice aroma when blended with coconut.Verdict:

Puttu and Kadala Curry is the best combo that I can think of.Though it tasted very well,i somehow feel that the ones made with rice flour tastes the BEST!

Thanks ton for the award dear..n congrats to u..:)Thge kadala curry looks scrumptous..what a divine combo alle..a cuppa hot tea n its complete..!..Here we both are crazy about this combo n make it almost every weekend..I bought a puttu cooker sometime back just to get that home look n feel..Back home,we layer flour n coocnut alternatively n steam it..some of ma frnds have been asking to post it since long..hope to do that soon..:)hugs

Congrats on your award! Nice to know more about you. It was a very interesting read! Puttu Kadala is truly a marriage made in heaven..its so irresistible! Loved the way you made puttu. Never knew that it could be steamed by placing vessel in a cooker! The kadala curry looks delicious!

Nice recipe never tried kerala recipes.Will try sometime.Its nice to know more abt u dear.Its very good habit to drink lot of water but iam very bad in that.Even me too in the kitchen dear.Enjoy the weekend dear.

Congrats on ur award....same pinch on going to the loo often, however it's more weird in my case cause I don't even drink much water.I love puttu too, especially with bananas, but I'm too lazy to scrape so much coconut and I hate the frozen one we get.